Model Railway Forum

The figures look great Steve - I can see queues forming on your platforms . My only comment, and it may be down to the lighting, is that some of the figures (men in suits) appear to have a "sheen" to them? I have had this problem, even when using well stirred matt colours. The men loading sacks is very realistic.

bulleidboy wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 11:14 am The figures look great Steve - I can see queues forming on your platforms . My only comment, and it may be down to the lighting, is that some of the figures (men in suits) appear to have a "sheen" to them? I have had this problem, even when using well stirred matt colours. The men loading sacks is very realistic.

You are absolutely right about the sheen.
My fault, as I tried a slightly different approach to my painting this time - after completing the colours I dipped them in a dark wash for shadows and creases before a white/grey dry brush for highlights. The black wash dries with that bl##dy sheen.
I do have some matt varnish so I may slop some of that on them although I’ve never really got a decent finish with it before.
Probably be ok once the figures get dusty - shouldn’t take too long.

The shed door blew open overnight in the storm we had - unfortunately it appears that the local fox took refuge from the rain and now there is a very distinctive odour out there.

The ongoing project to add stay alives to my TTS locos continues apace. Just working through the locos in storage and completed three more and found one with a new TXS decoder that I had forgotten about (idiot). The capacitors certainly make a difference.
Found that my old A4 Gadwall has an old factory fitted early TTS decoder (it was the first DCC loco I bought) and as I have no idea where to solder on the stay alive, this one will get a new TXS in due course. My GNR Atlantic currently has a TTS plus adaptor to fit the 21 pin plug so that one will also get a new TXS.
And, true to form, I released the magic smoke on the decoder in Tornado so that’s another on the shopping list.
Onwards and upwards.

One recurring frustration for me is losing screws, tools and various other bits on the workbench (and that’s before some of them fall on the floor!
I’ve tried pots to put small parts in, and drawers under the bench for the tools - all to no avail.

But today I have come up with the latest idea to keep things in one place - a simple wooden tray from the Works with a couple of dividers to hold a Peco servicing cradle, an area for tools and a lined section for loco bodies once they are off the chassis. There is also a small pot ( a shot glass) to drop the small parts in and a magnet to hold the odd screw.

No excuses now.

2023-07-18_12-15-59 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

[quote=bulleidboy post_id=46871 time=1689329650 user_id=63...........some of the figures (men in suits) appear to have a "sheen" to them?
[/quote]

Barry, update on the sheen.....I saw a product from AK paints called ‘antishine but couldn’t find a supplier that wouldn’t double the price due to postage. Ended up with a similar ‘antishine’ from the Army Painter range on Amazon Prime which works just as well.
It’s a definite addition to my figure painting process.

Three more TTS stay alive conversions done today. The first, A2/3 Thane of Fife, required a section of the tender ballast weight milling out so the decoder could fit under the weight leaving space on top for the capacitor pack and speaker. I really must get a proper milling machine rather than the adapted drill press I currently use.

Second one was a Bachmann class 20 - absolutely no space at all for one of my home brew stay alives but there was just enough space to fit a Hornby powerbank, having changed the plug from the TXS version first.

The last one was a Bachmann 2MT - this has to be the tightest install yet as the available space is effectivelyjust the depth of the letters LMS on the side of the tender.

2023-07-19_07-09-31 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

2023-07-19_07-19-05 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

The servicing tray now has a rack for pliers and cutters.

20230724_104408 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

Ahead of my next printing session I decided to tidy up my printing area which had monopolised the garage workbench. The result is a bespoke rolling cabinet to house the machinery in a dust free enclosure and a space to store the associated paraphernalia.

2023-07-30_12-56-05 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

A man of many talents.